Grace v. Effort | Grace & Effort

There has been for a very long time the discussion of grace and effort. Some traditions lament deeply the power of surrender and only grace's capacity to carry you towards the experience of freedom. Others strongly argue that it is only effort that can carry you towards grace and ultimate liberation. Still others recommend a combination of the two.

I, naturally, look at it differently.

The idea of grace supposes that there is actually an experience we are meant to have. It supposes that this universe and you were meant to experience something very specific. As if all of this exists for you to wake-up, find truth and experience fulfillment. I know some narcissists and two-year-olds that feel this way, but this is not reality.

The perception that the universe exists for truth, awakening, and evolution is just a perception.

The experience of grace, of mysterious support and freedom, of deep love and awareness are damn nice. They are, however, just one side of the coin (a very complex coin).

In truth (meaning: in my experience), grace and effort are one. Every experience you have is the experiencing you're having. Your life is the experience you have. Grace is experience itself. Effort is grace functioning through you as life and volition.

Isn't life as it is just enough?

Kris Nelson | Krama Consulting & Development, Inc. | kramaconsulting.com

The Wisdom of Delusion

When I woke-up, I became the most unconscious, deluded and delusional being in the universe. I also became the most enlightened.

I am the most enlightened being that has ever existed. I am the most deluded being that has ever existed.

This is the space of the awake being. Within awakeness, within consciousness, all polarities arise and fall. When you wake-up, you become the most enlightened being and the most deluded, unconscious being, for there is nothing else.

Most on the spiritual path of awakening assume that with awakening there is a suspension of all negative and delusional qualities, but this is not reality, this is not the universe. The universe is comprised of consciousness and unconsciousness, held within the power and grace of one consciousness. To awaken is to embody these polarities and hold these within one's consciousness.

In the process of awakening, there is the tendency to suppress and deny all that is unconscious, undeveloped, and unaware. In the this, half of the universe is suppressed. You, and the universe, remains divided.

Awakening needs unawakening and consciousness needs unconsciousness.

In your practice and process, seek the unawake within. Practice the delusional and deluded aspects of yourself without denial, without hiding, without posturing, without pretending. In embracing your true nature, both the aware and unaware, you embrace the entire universe. In practicing your delusion, hold your unconsciousness, your selfishness, your lust, your greed, your jealousy, your pain, your fear, your suffering, for these too are perfect consciousness.

Wake-up to your own delusion - be free.